Macquarie and Dublin Airport Authority plan Birmingham sale

Emily Pacey

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Australia’s biggest airport owner Macquarie Airports and Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) may sell their combined 48% stake in Birmingham International airport (BIA)

The decision to go ahead with the joint sale of DAA and Macquarie’s 24% stakes in UK’s fifth biggest airport depends on the quality of the offers received, DAA said in a statement.

The majority stake is held by seven local councils, which together own 49% of the airport. Under the terms of the shareholding agreement, the councils have the first option to buy Macquarie’s stake.

BIA managing director Richard Heard said: “It is very much ‘business as usual’ at the airport. ...Under the current public/private partnership shareholding arrangements, BIA has grown and developed in stature tremendously over the past 10 years.”

However, reports indicate that the decision by Macquarie to sell its shares has prompted the councils to consider a sale of their own stake. This could lead a buyer to purchase both sets of shares and gain control of the airport, which is valued at about £1.4bn ($2.6bn).

BIA is the fifth biggest airport in the UK. It welcomes 10m passengers a year to its two passenger terminals, which together house 62 retail outlets. The incumbent operator is Alpha Retail. It is one of six airports in which Macquarie owns stakes, including Bristol, Brussels, Rome, Copenhagen and Sydney, which is the Australian investor's biggest concern.